The Lord of the Rings (1978)
66%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: NA
Ralph Bakshi’s valiant attempt at rendering Tolkein’s magnum opus in rotoscope never lives up to the grandeur of its source material, with a compressed running time that flattens the sweeping story and experimental animation that is more bizarre than magical
The Lord of the Rings has been reviewed by many critics, some of whom loved it and some of whom hated it. But let’s be real, who cares what they think? If you’re a fan of elves, dwarves, and talking trees, then this movie is for you. Sure, it might be a bit confusing at times, but that’s just part of the fun. And let’s not forget about the creepy animation that still manages to give us nightmares to this day. So grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the ride. Just don’t forget to bring a map of Middle Earth, because you might get lost along the way.
Production Company(ies)
Bluemark Productions, C-Hundred Film Corporation, Civilian Pictures,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
TV-14
Year of Release
1978
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Stereo
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Sep 11, 2001
Genre(s)
Fantasy/Adventure
Keyword(s)
starring Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes, John Hurt, Simon Chandler, Dominic Guard, directed by Ralph Bakshi, written by Chris Conkling, Peter S Beagle, Fantasy, Adventure, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Paul Gray, William Thomas, Dave Kehr, Variety Staff, Nigel Ferguson, Vincent Canby, Jesús Fernández Santos, Víctor López G., Sky Staff, Film4 Staff, Bernard Drew, Lawrence O’Toole, PG, J.R.R Tolkien, Frodo, Gandalf, Sam, Aragorn, Merry, Pippin, Mount Doom, magical ring, hobbit friends, heroic allies, rotoscope, experimental animation, Middle Earth, live-action tracing, natural movement, dense novels, visually echoing, Tolkien’s own drawings, visually compelling, narrative shortages, fascinating, strong base, faithful to the original, spirit and inspiration, master of his chosen medium, wondrous leap, land of the imagination
Worldwide gross: $30,471,420
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: $30,471,420
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
William Squire – Gandalf (Voice)
Michael Scholes – Sam (Voice)
John Hurt – Aragorn (Voice)
Simon Chandler – Merry (Voice)
Dominic Guard – Pippin (Voice)
Director(s)
Ralph Bakshi
Writer(s)
Chris Conkling, Peter S. Beagle
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (20)
Lacking a firm center in Frodo’s story, the film plays itself out as a bewildering parade of elves, dwarves, ores, trolls and talking trees.
March 26, 2019
Paul Gray
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
What most people remember is the mix of the live-action tracing within the traditional animation and just how effectively creepy it managed to be, but for the time this did a pretty good job of adapting the dense novels.
December 3, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
William Thomas
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It looked terrible then and it still does: cartoon characters move differently from live actors, and the attempt to duplicate natural movement ends in stylistic incoherence.
December 3, 2012
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Quite simply, those who do not know the characters of Middle Earth going in will not know them coming out.
July 7, 2010
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Bakshi’s version, using animation and live-action tracings, is uniformly excellent, sticking closely to the original text and visually echoing many of Tolkien’s own drawings.
February 9, 2006
Nigel Ferguson
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
The film is visually compelling even when murk overtakes the narrative.
May 9, 2005
Vincent Canby
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Ralph Bakshi achieves spectacular effects. [Full Review in Spanish]
August 12, 2019
Jesús Fernández Santos
El Pais (Spain)
A film that, despite its palpable narrative shortages, is not only fascinating regarding its visual commitment, but also because it laid a strong base for the material shot by Jackson a quarter of a century later. [Full Review in Spanish]
July 31, 2019
Víctor López G.
Espinof
[W]e should be grateful that Bakshi has tried so hard to be faithful to the original that its spirit and inspiration often shine through to stir the blood.
March 26, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
Sky Staff
Sky Cinema
A genuine cult movie
March 26, 2019 | Rating: 7/10
Film4 Staff
Film4
Bakshi proves once again that he is a master of his chosen medium.
March 26, 2019
Bernard Drew
Gannett News Service
Lord of the Rings never makes that wondrous leap to the land of the imagination.
March 26, 2019
Lawrence O’Toole
Maclean’s Magazine…
Plot
In this animated film, a young hobbit named Frodo is entrusted with a magical ring by the wise wizard Gandalf, and must leave his peaceful home to travel to Mount Doom to destroy it before dark forces can get their hands on it.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels review for The Lord of the Rings.
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